diff --git a/internal/commands/config.go b/internal/commands/config.go
index 33e7664b..de849d31 100644
--- a/internal/commands/config.go
+++ b/internal/commands/config.go
@@ -190,6 +190,7 @@ type config struct {
 	stdout          io.Writer         // standard output
 	stderr          io.Writer         // standard error
 	cleanEvalMode   bool              // clean mode for eval
+	showPristine    bool              // generate last-applied annotation
 }
 
 // init checks variables and sets up defaults. In strict mode, it requires all variables
diff --git a/internal/commands/diff.go b/internal/commands/diff.go
index 98cdc74c..e9708c2f 100644
--- a/internal/commands/diff.go
+++ b/internal/commands/diff.go
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/splunk/qbec/internal/diff"
 	"github.com/splunk/qbec/internal/model"
 	"github.com/splunk/qbec/internal/objsort"
+	"github.com/splunk/qbec/internal/pristine"
 	"github.com/splunk/qbec/internal/remote"
 	"github.com/splunk/qbec/internal/sio"
 	"github.com/splunk/qbec/internal/types"
@@ -283,7 +284,7 @@ func (d *differ) diff(ob model.K8sMeta) error {
 	var left, right *unstructured.Unstructured
 	if remoteObject != nil {
 		var source string
-		left, source = remote.GetPristineVersionForDiff(remoteObject)
+		left, source = pristine.GetPristineVersionForDiff(remoteObject)
 		leftName += " (source: " + source + ")"
 	}
 	left = fixup(left)
diff --git a/internal/commands/show.go b/internal/commands/show.go
index 0131a689..9230d5ff 100644
--- a/internal/commands/show.go
+++ b/internal/commands/show.go
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 	"github.com/splunk/qbec/internal/model"
 	"github.com/splunk/qbec/internal/objsort"
+	"github.com/splunk/qbec/internal/pristine"
 	"github.com/splunk/qbec/internal/sio"
 	"github.com/splunk/qbec/internal/types"
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1/unstructured"
@@ -125,6 +126,12 @@ func cleanMeta(obj model.K8sLocalObject) *unstructured.Unstructured {
 	return un
 }
 
+func showPristine(obj model.K8sLocalObject) *unstructured.Unstructured {
+	p := pristine.QbecPristine{}
+	ret, _ := p.CreateFromPristine(obj)
+	return ret.ToUnstructured()
+}
+
 func doShow(args []string, config showCommandConfig) error {
 	if len(args) != 1 {
 		return newUsageError("exactly one environment required")
@@ -176,6 +183,9 @@ func doShow(args []string, config showCommandConfig) error {
 	var displayObjects []*unstructured.Unstructured
 	mapper := func(o model.K8sLocalObject) *unstructured.Unstructured { return o.ToUnstructured() }
 
+	if config.showPristine {
+		mapper = showPristine
+	}
 	if config.cleanEvalMode {
 		mapper = cleanMeta
 	}
@@ -213,17 +223,19 @@ func newShowCommand(cp configProvider) *cobra.Command {
 		filterFunc: addFilterParams(cmd, true),
 	}
 
-	var clean bool
+	var clean, pristine bool
 	cmd.Flags().StringVarP(&config.format, "format", "o", "yaml", "Output format. Supported values are: json, yaml")
 	cmd.Flags().BoolVarP(&config.namesOnly, "objects", "O", false, "Only print names of objects instead of their contents")
 	cmd.Flags().BoolVar(&config.sortAsApply, "sort-apply", false, "sort output in apply order (requires cluster access)")
 	cmd.Flags().BoolVar(&clean, "clean", false, "do not display qbec-generated labels and annotations")
+	cmd.Flags().BoolVar(&pristine, "show-pristine", false, "generate and display last-applied annotation")
 	cmd.Flags().BoolVarP(&config.showSecrets, "show-secrets", "S", false, "do not obfuscate secret values in the output")
 
 	cmd.RunE = func(c *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 		config.config = cp()
 		config.formatSpecified = c.Flags().Changed("format")
 		config.config.cleanEvalMode = clean
+		config.config.showPristine = pristine
 		return wrapError(doShow(args, config))
 	}
 	return cmd
diff --git a/internal/remote/pristine.go b/internal/pristine/pristine.go
similarity index 88%
rename from internal/remote/pristine.go
rename to internal/pristine/pristine.go
index 3a28dd50..5b4efdfd 100644
--- a/internal/remote/pristine.go
+++ b/internal/pristine/pristine.go
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
    limitations under the License.
 */
 
-package remote
+package pristine
 
 import (
 	"bytes"
@@ -72,18 +72,18 @@ func unzipData(s string) (map[string]interface{}, error) {
 	return data, nil
 }
 
-type pristineReader interface {
-	getPristine(annotations map[string]string, obj *unstructured.Unstructured) (pristine *unstructured.Unstructured, source string)
+type PristineReader interface {
+	GetPristine(annotations map[string]string, obj *unstructured.Unstructured) (pristine *unstructured.Unstructured, source string)
 }
 
-type pristineReadWriter interface {
-	pristineReader
-	createFromPristine(obj model.K8sLocalObject) (model.K8sLocalObject, error)
+type PristineReadWriter interface {
+	PristineReader
+	CreateFromPristine(obj model.K8sLocalObject) (model.K8sLocalObject, error)
 }
 
-type qbecPristine struct{}
+type QbecPristine struct{}
 
-func (k qbecPristine) getPristine(annotations map[string]string, _ *unstructured.Unstructured) (*unstructured.Unstructured, string) {
+func (k QbecPristine) GetPristine(annotations map[string]string, _ *unstructured.Unstructured) (*unstructured.Unstructured, string) {
 	serialized := annotations[model.QbecNames.PristineAnnotation]
 	if serialized == "" {
 		return nil, ""
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ func (k qbecPristine) getPristine(annotations map[string]string, _ *unstructured
 	return &unstructured.Unstructured{Object: m}, "qbec annotation"
 }
 
-func (k qbecPristine) createFromPristine(pristine model.K8sLocalObject) (model.K8sLocalObject, error) {
+func (k QbecPristine) CreateFromPristine(pristine model.K8sLocalObject) (model.K8sLocalObject, error) {
 	b, err := json.Marshal(pristine)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, errors.Wrap(err, "pristine JSON marshal")
@@ -125,9 +125,9 @@ func (k qbecPristine) createFromPristine(pristine model.K8sLocalObject) (model.K
 
 const kubectlLastConfig = "kubectl.kubernetes.io/last-applied-configuration"
 
-type kubectlPristine struct{}
+type KubectlPristine struct{}
 
-func (k kubectlPristine) getPristine(annotations map[string]string, _ *unstructured.Unstructured) (*unstructured.Unstructured, string) {
+func (k KubectlPristine) GetPristine(annotations map[string]string, _ *unstructured.Unstructured) (*unstructured.Unstructured, string) {
 	serialized := annotations[kubectlLastConfig]
 	if serialized == "" {
 		return nil, ""
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ func (k kubectlPristine) getPristine(annotations map[string]string, _ *unstructu
 
 type fallbackPristine struct{}
 
-func (f fallbackPristine) getPristine(annotations map[string]string, orig *unstructured.Unstructured) (*unstructured.Unstructured, string) {
+func (f fallbackPristine) GetPristine(annotations map[string]string, orig *unstructured.Unstructured) (*unstructured.Unstructured, string) {
 	delete(annotations, "deployment.kubernetes.io/revision")
 	orig.SetDeletionTimestamp(nil)
 	orig.SetCreationTimestamp(metav1.Time{})
@@ -163,8 +163,8 @@ func (f fallbackPristine) getPristine(annotations map[string]string, orig *unstr
 	return orig, "fallback - live object with some attributes removed"
 }
 
-func getPristineVersion(obj *unstructured.Unstructured, includeFallback bool) (*unstructured.Unstructured, string) {
-	pristineReaders := []pristineReader{qbecPristine{}, kubectlPristine{}}
+func GetPristineVersion(obj *unstructured.Unstructured, includeFallback bool) (*unstructured.Unstructured, string) {
+	pristineReaders := []PristineReader{QbecPristine{}, KubectlPristine{}}
 	if includeFallback {
 		pristineReaders = append(pristineReaders, fallbackPristine{})
 	}
@@ -173,7 +173,7 @@ func getPristineVersion(obj *unstructured.Unstructured, includeFallback bool) (*
 		annotations = map[string]string{}
 	}
 	for _, p := range pristineReaders {
-		out, str := p.getPristine(annotations, obj)
+		out, str := p.GetPristine(annotations, obj)
 		if out != nil {
 			return out, str
 		}
@@ -185,5 +185,5 @@ func getPristineVersion(obj *unstructured.Unstructured, includeFallback bool) (*
 // live object. If no annotations are found, it halfheartedly deletes known runtime information that is
 // set on the server and returns the supplied object with those attributes removed.
 func GetPristineVersionForDiff(obj *unstructured.Unstructured) (*unstructured.Unstructured, string) {
-	return getPristineVersion(obj, true)
+	return GetPristineVersion(obj, true)
 }
diff --git a/internal/remote/pristine_test.go b/internal/pristine/pristine_test.go
similarity index 97%
rename from internal/remote/pristine_test.go
rename to internal/pristine/pristine_test.go
index 969ed7a1..9c37867f 100644
--- a/internal/remote/pristine_test.go
+++ b/internal/pristine/pristine_test.go
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-package remote
+package pristine
 
 import (
 	"encoding/base64"
@@ -174,7 +174,7 @@ func testPristineReader(t *testing.T, useFallback bool) {
 			if useFallback {
 				pristine, source = GetPristineVersionForDiff(obj)
 			} else {
-				pristine, source = getPristineVersion(obj, false)
+				pristine, source = GetPristineVersion(obj, false)
 			}
 			test.asserter(t, pristine, source)
 		})
@@ -191,9 +191,9 @@ func TestPristineReaderNoFallback(t *testing.T) {
 
 func TestCreateFromPristine(t *testing.T) {
 	un := loadFile(t, "input.yaml")
-	p := qbecPristine{}
+	p := QbecPristine{}
 	obj := model.NewK8sLocalObject(un.Object, model.LocalAttrs{App: "app", Tag: "", Component: "comp1", Env: "dev"})
-	ret, err := p.createFromPristine(obj)
+	ret, err := p.CreateFromPristine(obj)
 	require.Nil(t, err)
 	a := assert.New(t)
 	eLabels := obj.ToUnstructured().GetLabels()
diff --git a/internal/remote/testdata/pristine/input.yaml b/internal/pristine/testdata/pristine/input.yaml
similarity index 100%
rename from internal/remote/testdata/pristine/input.yaml
rename to internal/pristine/testdata/pristine/input.yaml
diff --git a/internal/remote/testdata/pristine/kc-applied.yaml b/internal/pristine/testdata/pristine/kc-applied.yaml
similarity index 100%
rename from internal/remote/testdata/pristine/kc-applied.yaml
rename to internal/pristine/testdata/pristine/kc-applied.yaml
diff --git a/internal/remote/testdata/pristine/kc-created.yaml b/internal/pristine/testdata/pristine/kc-created.yaml
similarity index 100%
rename from internal/remote/testdata/pristine/kc-created.yaml
rename to internal/pristine/testdata/pristine/kc-created.yaml
diff --git a/internal/remote/testdata/pristine/qbec-applied.yaml b/internal/pristine/testdata/pristine/qbec-applied.yaml
similarity index 100%
rename from internal/remote/testdata/pristine/qbec-applied.yaml
rename to internal/pristine/testdata/pristine/qbec-applied.yaml
diff --git a/internal/remote/client.go b/internal/remote/client.go
index 2dc8e2a2..195672ab 100644
--- a/internal/remote/client.go
+++ b/internal/remote/client.go
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/jonboulle/clockwork"
 	"github.com/pkg/errors"
 	"github.com/splunk/qbec/internal/model"
+	"github.com/splunk/qbec/internal/pristine"
 	"github.com/splunk/qbec/internal/remote/k8smeta"
 	"github.com/splunk/qbec/internal/sio"
 	"github.com/splunk/qbec/internal/types"
@@ -78,9 +79,9 @@ type DeleteOptions struct {
 }
 
 type internalSyncOptions struct {
-	secretDryRun       bool               // dry-run phase for objects having secrets info
-	pristiner          pristineReadWriter // pristine writer
-	pristineAnnotation string             // pristine annotation to manipulate for secrets dry-run
+	secretDryRun       bool                        // dry-run phase for objects having secrets info
+	pristiner          pristine.PristineReadWriter // pristine writer
+	pristineAnnotation string                      // pristine annotation to manipulate for secrets dry-run
 }
 
 type resourceClient interface {
@@ -407,7 +408,7 @@ func (c *Client) ensureType(gvk schema.GroupVersionKind, opts SyncOptions) error
 // It does not do anything in dry-run mode. It also does not create new objects if the caller has disabled the feature.
 func (c *Client) Sync(original model.K8sLocalObject, opts SyncOptions) (_ *SyncResult, finalError error) {
 	// set up the pristine strategy.
-	var prw pristineReadWriter = qbecPristine{}
+	var prw pristine.PristineReadWriter = pristine.QbecPristine{}
 	sensitive := types.HasSensitiveInfo(original.ToUnstructured())
 
 	internal := internalSyncOptions{
@@ -476,7 +477,7 @@ func (c *Client) doSync(original model.K8sLocalObject, opts SyncOptions, interna
 		opts.DryRun = true // won't affect caller since passed by value
 		obj, _ = types.HideSensitiveLocalInfo(original)
 	} else {
-		o, err := internal.pristiner.createFromPristine(original)
+		o, err := internal.pristiner.CreateFromPristine(original)
 		if err != nil {
 			return nil, errors.Wrap(err, "create from pristine")
 		}
@@ -665,7 +666,7 @@ func (c *Client) maybeUpdate(obj model.K8sLocalObject, remObj *unstructured.Unst
 	p := patcher{
 		provider: c.resourceInterfaceWithDefaultNs,
 		cfgProvider: func(obj *unstructured.Unstructured) ([]byte, error) {
-			pristine, _ := getPristineVersion(obj, false)
+			pristine, _ := pristine.GetPristineVersion(obj, false)
 			if pristine == nil {
 				p := map[string]interface{}{
 					"kind":       obj.GetKind(),